After two town votes, several hearings, dozens of select board
meetings, and what probably amounts to reams of correspondence
exchanged between attorneys, state officials, town representatives and
landfill executives, it's official: The town of Moretown has the okay
from residents to sign an agreement with the Moretown Landfill Inc.
(MLI) that conserves town- and school-owned land.

Voters turned out Tuesday, August 21, to approve the proposal 155 to
57. Residents were required by state statute to cast two ballots, one
as town residents and one as school district residents, since the
81-acre parcel is jointly owned. Both tallies were the same.

Tuesday's vote was the second on the same issue. A petition, signed by
72 registered Moretown voters, asked for a reconsideration of a May
vote that resulted in 122 ballots for and 62 against the proposal.

In response to the petition -- filed with the town in June -- the
select board held a hearing on Monday, August 20, and opened the polls
once again on Tuesday.

The ballot was the same for this week's vote and May's vote: Both asked
residents to approve the "sale of an easement and grant of development
rights and conservation restrictions" on the 81-acre parcel to MLI for
$101,250. The same question asked voters to consider granting MLI an
option to purchase development rights to an additional roughly 35 acres.

Moretown Select Board chair Paula Mastroberardino said at the August 20
public hearing that state statute prohibits another citizen petition on
the issue. The only way the agreement may be challenged is if the
select board opts to take action.

DEAL ALLOWS DEERYARD MITIGATION

The deal -- which provides MLI a location for deeryard mitigation --
allows the company to move ahead with plans to construct an additional
cell for waste. Through terms of the agreement, MLI pays the town and
school for the development rights and then cedes those rights to the
Vermont Land Trust.

State standards require MLI to conserve three acres of deeryard for every one acre they disturb through construction.

A conservation easement drafted by the nonprofit land trust is slated
to govern acceptable uses on the 81-acre parcel. It has been reviewed
by the state, officials have said, and takes into account a
grant-funded forest management plan now in the works by Moretown's
planning commission.

The second purchase option expires in August of 2012.

The agreement also includes an option for the town to lease, for $1 per
year, a two-acre property off Route 2 as a location for the town garage.

PUBLIC HEARING RAISES CONCERNS

Some questions at Tuesday's public hearing revolved around whether
deeds include any restrictions. Others asked what activities would be
allowed.

Mastroberardino said the town's attorney researched the deeds and submitted his findings in a letter to the board.

"The intent of the property is for the benefit of the school children,"
Mastroberardino told the crowd of about 20, adding that the agreement
stands to uphold that commitment.

School board chair John Schmeltzer said that half of the $101,250
payment from MLI would be allocated to the school, noting that voters
would weigh in on how to spend the money.

Several Moretown residents suggested that the town also consider using
their half of the payment to benefit Moretown children, in part to
honor the intent of the property's former owners.

When it comes to acceptable uses on the property, Liza Walker from the
Vermont Land Trust said at the public hearing that snowmobiling would
be restricted -- as per state requirements -- but that other activities
such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, timber harvesting
and hunting would be allowed.

She said a $10,000 one-time payment to the land trust goes into a
stewardship endowment to ensure that the organization has the resources
to enforce the easement.

LANDFILL EXPANSION CONSIDERED

Some Moretown residents challenged whether the Vermont Land Trust
needed to be involved with the deal, citing concerns about the town
paying out more than what they are taking in on the deal. Others wanted
to know more about whether an expansion of the landfill would be good
for the town.

MLI manager Tom Badowski said the company pays hundreds of thousands of
dollars to Moretown in tipping fees every year, in addition to about
$14,000 per month in property taxes.

"I believe it's in the best interests of the town's residents to continue those revenues," he said.

He added, however, that the town may want to start planning for the day
when the landfill eventually shuts its doors and the revenue stream the
town now enjoys dries up.

"Someday it's going to close," he said.

Contact Erin Post at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.